NASFM presented 45 awards at its 34th retail design awards program Monday, March 21, during its awards ceremony at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Store of the Year was presented to TELUS Mobility for its crisp, clean evolution of brand, particularly within the retail classification of service technology. This was designer burdifilek's second Store of the Year in a row. Last year they won for Holt Renfrew. Fixture of the Year was awarded to Cartier’s Fixture Grouping for its phenomenal execution of timeless elegance. During the event, 13 projects were awarded Grand Prizes onstage, in addition to the Fixture of the Year and the Store of the Year.

NASFM’s Store Fixture Awards recognized 15 individual and store fixture groupings during a special audio-visual presentation. In all, 39 NASFM members contributed to the various winning projects. NASFM member Alu Inc., based in New York, manufactured fixtures for the Store of the Year, TELUS Mobility.

Also at NASFM’s Retail Design Awards presentation, DDI recognized James Damian, the senior vice president of the Experience Development Group for Best Buy Co., Inc. with the prestigious Markopoulos Award. The 2005 Markopoulos award was presented by last year’s recipient, Sony’s Christine Belich. James Damian, who was out of the country, accepted his award via a special DVD acknowledgement.

?The winners were selected from projects submitted from around the world that were completed between January and December of 2004. The Canadians and the Northeasterners tied for the most projects with 10 each. Internationally, Lotte Department Store in Sang-in, Korea, took home an Outstanding Merit, and Hugo Boss Pilot Store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris took an Outstanding Merit in its category and a Store Fixture Award for its Plug System.